(This article may or may not contain affiliate links. What does that mean?)
I know my hometown doesn’t have the best reputation. After all, we sometimes get called the “Mistake on the Lake.” The idea of Cleveland being a center of tourism was such a joke, a local comedian made a fake tourism video when Cleveland hosted the MLB all-star game. But that perception is finally starting to change. National Geographic ranked Cleveland as one of the best places in the world to visit in 2018. Cleveland has beaches, an amusement park, museums, theatre, and a national park within an hour’s drive. We are a city that has something for everyone.
Cedar Point
If you are a roller coaster fanatic, you need to visit Cedar Point, the “Roller Coaster Capital of the World.” Cedar Point has 18 roller coasters. They also have plenty of stuff for the little ones. They have 3 kids’ areas with plenty of rides that even my 20 month old could enjoy. Cedar Point also has a water park, a beach, and stage shows. In the fall, they have a family friendly Halloween event with trick or treating, face painting and lots of special treats! Because it gets really cold and snowy in the winter in Cleveland, Cedar Point is generally not open from November to April, and only on the weekends in May, September and October. I wouldn’t want to ride a roller coaster in January in Cleveland anyway, your face would freeze! Cedar Point is about an hour west of Cleveland.
Top Thrill Dragster is a little too intense for my tastes, I’ll stick with things that don’t go double the speed of my car. Photo Courtesy of Skyler Gerald on Unsplash
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
No guide to Cleveland would be complete without mentioning The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has exhibits on 6 floors, including The Garage, where you can try out various instruments for yourself. (The Garage is closed right now due to COVID restrictions. You can check on it’s status online before you go). One of my favorite exhibits is the Power of Rock, which features footage of past inductions, with special effects that make you feel like you’re seeing a live performance. Some exhibits do feature uncensored Rock and Roll history, so there’s some language. Look for family fun days on Sundays in the summer. Family fun days are usually hosted on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Plaza, which by the way is shaped like a record player, and features chalk art, live music, and more!
The Rock Hall was supposed to be built downtown, but it was built on Lake Erie instead.
The Great Lakes Science Center is next door, and is definitely worth a visit if your kids are science buffs. The Science Center features hundreds of live science exhibits, a steamship and a NASA visitor center.
The West Side Market and Ohio City
The West Side Market is home to many small businesses and food vendors. It’s over 100 years old! Some of my personal favorites are The Orale Mexican food stand, and Christmas Ale Bacon, which is sold at the butcher stands. Make sure you visit in the morning, most of the best food is sold out by lunch time. The aisles at the market are a little tight, this isn’t the place to take your double stroller if you can help it.
Campbell’s Popcorn Factory has a location inside the West Side Market, but their flagship store is just up the road. They sell gourmet popcorn in a wide variety of flavors, as well as gourmet chocolates and amazing cupcakes. The cupcakes are some of the best cupcakes in the city. I loved them so much we served them at our wedding instead of a more traditional cake. Trust me on this one, you’ll want to try a Wedding Cake Vanilla Cupcake or a Red Velvet Cupcake.
The security guards at my reception were super excited when my mom offered them some leftovers!
When you’re done shopping at the market, you can walk up the street to get Mitchell’s Ice Cream. Their Ohio City location also doubles as an ice cream factory. You can watch the ice cream being made from several windows! To be around fewer people, and a better view of the factory, take your ice cream upstairs.
If you have a kid-free evening, check out Great Lakes Brewing Company. They have lots of delicious beers brewed in house, and you can take a tour of the factory. If you’re in town while the Christmas Ale is in season, don’t bother looking at a menu, that’s what you want, trust me.
The West Side Market is a great destination for snacks and so much more.
Playhouse Square
Did you know that Cleveland has the second biggest theatre district in the United States? (After Broadway). We do, and we get amazing shows every year! We’ve had Hamiliton, The Lion King, Wicked, and many more at Playhouse Square. I’m a big theatre buff, so I can say first hand that the tickets are very reasonably priced. I know several people that have made weekend trips to Cleveland just to see a show at Playhouse Square.
Taking a selfie with the giant chandelier at Playhouse Square is a right of passage for Clevelanders. Photo courtesy of Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash
DON’T MISS! A Local’s Guide to the Best of Family-Friendly Nashville
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Our Zoo has a few features that are unique. The Cleveland Zoo features a huge indoor 2 story rainforest, which is a perfect escape from our long, cold winters. They also have an elephant crossing, and you can feed a giraffe in the African Savannah section. In July and August every year, the Zoo hosts an Asian Lantern Festival, which is one of our favorite events in Cleveland. The lanterns are beautiful, the food is delicious, and the show is fun and full of great talent.
The Asian Lantern Festival at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is one of my favorite events in Cleveland © Emily Householder Stacey
Professional Sports
Tickets to watch The Browns, Indians and Cavaliers are very affordable. A friend from Chicago told me that it was cheaper for him to fly to Cleveland, get a hotel for the weekend and buy tickets at Progressive field than it was to buy similar tickets at Wrigley Field! The Cleveland Browns even offer family-friendly sections where no alcohol is permitted.
Progressive Field is home to the Cleveland Indians, as well as home to a smaller version of most of Cleveland’s best restaurants. You can get way more than just a hot dog here! Photo Courtesy of Chris Chow
Where to Eat
Your kids are going to love Melt Bar and Grilled. Don’t let the word bar fool you, Melt is very kid-friendly, they have a great kids menu and plenty of high chairs! Melt serves up gourmet grilled cheese, and so much more. It’s worth mentioning that the portions are huge, I always have at least half of my meal for leftovers. If sandwiches aren’t your thing, then head over to Little Italy and try out Mama Santa’s Fettuccine Alfredo.
When You Go:
The easiest way to get to Cleveland from Southern California is to fly into Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Cleveland does have a rail and bus system, but I would highly recommend renting a car or using Uber while in town.
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS ARTICLE, PLEASE CONSIDER PINNING OR SHARING IT!
This is a very informative post. I knew only about the amusement park, Have no clue about its theater scene. Ah! the popcorn, enough reasons to visit Cleavland now 🙂
Many people, myself included when I first moved here, are suprised that Cleveland has such a busy art/theatre scene. I consider myself very lucky to have such easy access!
You are right, while searching for places to visit in the US Cleveland never showed up as a cool destination so I never considered it. But you have some good options here. for example, Cedar Point and that marked filled with tasty goodies.
How much time do you think a traveler needs to see some of the cool things it has?
That depends, you could easily do a full day at Cedar Point alone, 2 days if you want to ride all the roller coasters! I think a 3 day weekend, one full day at Cedar Point and 2 days in the city, would be good.
Interesting post, I would have never thought that Cleveland could be a holiday destination. I really like the theater cultural scene as I really enjoy cultural travel.
Very nicely written and informative post.
Thank you! There’s a really robust theatre scene here, plenty of amateur theatre to enjoy as well as professional. The Cleveland Orchestra is also really good.
It has been a long time since I last rolled through Cleveland. So good to get some idea of why we need to return. We are roller coaster fans so that would be a great reason right from the start. We love checking out markets so would head to the West Side Market. Thanks for the tip about visiting early in the day before things get sold out. Visiting the zoo for the Asian Lantern Festival seems like a good time to plan the visit. When we can travel to the U.S. again, I will add Cleveland to our city list!
I hope you get to visit us soon. August would be a good month to hit both the lantern festival and cedar point. The end of August would probably have the lower crowds, a lot of the local kids are already back in school.
I love coasters and just because of that alone, I would love to visit Cleveland. Too bad, I live on the other side of the world, and there’s no chance of travel currently. Hopefully, I will be able to squeeze in some business travel next year and maybe pay a quick visit to Cleveland.
You got me on the cupcakes! They look and sound delicious! I heard about Cedar Point from a friend who’s from Toledo, but I never heard about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The picture really doesn’t do them justice. They are so big too! The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is really cool. If you’re a fan of a particular band that has been inducted, they have fan weekends from time to time. I think fan weekends are paused right now, but they will probably be back next summer.
Wow look at those vanilla cupcakes, they sound so delicious and I would love to try them. Cleveland has been on my list for a long time now. I would love to visit the Asian Lantern festival and see those lanterns lighten up the sky.
The lantern festival is gorgeous. We like to do a lap and see them during the day, and then do another lap once it gets dark. Hope you get to visit us soon!
I like guides to less touristic and popular places. I believe that every city is worth visiting, even if there are no tourist attractions in it. You can see the potential and charm everywhere. Cedar Point has 18 roller coasters, which is so impressive! I want to visit this place. The West Side Market looks perfect too. I love tasting food. So I hope to see Clevland one day.